


Deserving Better

by hlaalus



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst, F/F, Friendship, M/M, Romance, chapter 2 and 3 spoilers, kiyo is trans so I try not to use pronouns for her, kokichi is prickly, queerness, some chapter 6 spoilers, some queer slurs used by queer people, talking about feelings, tenko is lonely, wlw/mlm solidarity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:22:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28093104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hlaalus/pseuds/hlaalus
Summary: Tenko notices something about Kokichi that he isn't forthright about, but they have in common. Against her better judgement, she seeks him out for someone who understands how she feels. Kokichi is not keen on being seen through so easily, but Tenko has some ideas that are difficult to ignore. Tenko is smarter than she seems, but that also comes with some pain Kokichi couldn't predict.
Relationships: Chabashira Tenko & Oma Kokichi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Chats about Himiko & Gonta

A knock on Kokichi’s room surprised him — it was rare anyone came looking for him, maybe Gonta, _ maybe _ Shuichi, but he wasn’t expecting anyone. He tossed aside the magazine he was flipping through and opened the door. Tenko fucking Chabashira stood there with her fists clenched to her chest. She looked distressed and it made Kokichi raise an eyebrow.

“Oooh, is Tenko here to plot a murder with me? Are you looking to win the killing game like I am?” he touched his lips with a sly little grin.

“N-no! You degenerate, here I was thinking you might be able sympathize with me!” she shouted, stamping her feet. 

Kokichi scoffed, but left the door open as he walked away. She followed him in and cautiously shut the door behind her. She shuffled into the entrance and wrung her hands.

“You can sit, you know,” Kokichi gestured to the couch as he flopped on his bed with his hands behind his head. “You’d have to be pretty thick to think I could kill you in my own room. Not sneaky at all.”

Tenko huffed and perched herself on the couch, hands pressed to her knees. She was silent for a while, so Kokichi lifted his head to look at her.

“Have your lady-chasing ways gotten you into trouble this time? More than usual, anyway?” Kokichi offered. “You come on  _ way too  _ strong, I refuse to believe you got up anyone’s skirt.”

“Sh-shut up,” Tenko stammered. “I just… I just needed someone to talk to about it, someone who wouldn’t think I’m weird!”

“Too late, I think you’re weird!” Kokichi laughed to himself. “I mean, mostly for you getting your head all the way up Himko’s magic hat, if you know what I mean.”

“That’s the thing, it’s about Himiko!” Tenko cried, burying her face in her hands. “You’re like me, will you listen or not?”

“You’re not worried I’ll use it as dirt on you? Blackmail?” Kokichi said, turning on his stomach.

“You’d make something up if you wanted that, no one would believe you either way,” Tenko snapped. “You’re too untrustworthy, even for a boy.”

“Fiiiine, fine, spit it out.”

Tenko turned red again and clapped her hands over her eyes, “Himiko actually asked me to come along with her and Angie for a walk. I-I mean, I was going to follow them anyway, but she asked me to come! She asked me!”

Kokichi rolled his eyes, “Did you go?”

“No!” Tenko wailed. “I’m so stupid, why didn’t I just go along! Maybe our hands could have brushed and… and… maybe h-hold hands.”

“Wow, I guess they don’t name lesbians after lillies for no reason,” Kokichi scoffed. “Do you even dare to think about what her boobs must be like? Or would you blow a fuse and shut off like Keeboy?”

Obvious sweat drenched Tenko’s bangs to her forehead, “N-no, how dare you bring that up, even if you like boys, of course you’d bring that up.”

“Oh come on, you have to be a little tougher than  _ that _ ,” Kokichi rolled around on the bed, now full of energy. “I mean, develop a poker face and it’s not so bad.”

Tenko sneered, her eyes squinting, “Oh you mean like when I saw you fall asleep on Gonta’s back in a classroom and you woke up red as a hot pot when he carried you to the dorms?”

Kokichi stopped rolling and stared at her with an even expression, eyes narrowed, “How did you know about that.” 

She held up her hands in a mock shrug, her expression over-pleased with herself. “Oh, you aren’t so poker faced now!” That was exactly the face he gave her dammit, but he brushed it off.

Kokichi huffed and fell back on the bed, arms crossed. “Shut up, I was surprised. I thought he was going to kill me. He could just squish me too hard.”

“Suuuure,” Tenko said, actually smiling now that she had him cornered.

“It won’t happen again, I’ll sneak up on  _ him _ next time!” Kokichi insisted.

“Oh and play with his hair? Maybe touch his big arms?” Tenko giggled. Though this was Kokichi she was talking with, the conversation was pleasant, even fun. 

Kokichi sat up and pointed at her, “His arms are like tree trunks, you tell me you don’t want to touch them, terminal lesbian or not!”

“Oooh how romantic,” Tenko cooed. “You can talk all you want about me and Himko’s chest, but you’re all gooey talking about someone just carrying you.”

“Bullshit,” Kokichi huffed again, slapping both his hands on the mattress. 

The fact that she could pick this out of him without much effort both disquieted him and was a comfort. Solidarity, or whatever. But also she could see through his bullshit pretending not to care when the other boys got real close and personal. This could be a problem.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chats about Kaede & Kaito
> 
> (also the use of a slur by a queer person)

Kokichi drew his thumb across the dusty tomes in the library, looking for something — anything — interesting to read. He nearly settled on _Ancient Torture Devices_ before the doors to the library burst open. 

_“THERE YOU ARE,”_ Tenko cried. 

Kokichi didn’t have time to react before she was yanking his elbow out of the library and down the hall. He skidded as she dragged, half-heartedly trying to stop her but knowing it was no use. She pulled him into the game room, then into the AV room, and slammed the door shut.

“Okay what misadv—”

_“SHE KISSED ME,”_ Tenko shouted. 

“Wha—Himiko kissed you? The girl you’ve been following into the bathroom and inserting yourself into every conversation she’s a part of?” Kokichi’s forehead furrowed. 

“No! Oh, oh, oh, no no, it was Kaede, she kissed me!” Tenko’s face bloomed scarlet, her eyes wild and nearly resembling spirals.

“Kaede? Well that’s a new development. Details, girl!”

“I-I-I was helping her move her piano in her lab and-and-and she grabbed me by the waist,” Tenko demonstrated by wrapping her own arm around her waist. “She pulled me close—” she jerked herself to the side, “And kissed me right on the cheek!”

Kokichi tapped his cheek in thought. He hadn’t paid much attention to Kaede’s inclinations that way, probably because it didn’t involve him whether she was into girls or not. She was mostly a sharp girl who was maybe a little too determined and ran everyone right into the ground. Honestly, he respected her, she’d make a great supreme leader herself with all her vigor. But, obviously, that was all he thought about her.

Tenko sighed wistful and sweet, flopping on the theater couch. “I didn’t even realize! That she liked girls! Or… maybe she doesn’t?” She sat up, suddenly distressed. “Do you think she likes girls? Maybe she’s just… you know those girls who’re really affectionate and they don’t REALIZE…”

Kokichi perched himself on the arm of the couch, “Oh, she’s one of those ‘oh me and my girlfriend’ types who are so so so painfully straight, that makes sense.”

Tenko sat up quickly, “D-d-do you think? Not that I’m, you know, giving up on Himiko or anything, I just--I just! I want to know.” She poked her index fingers together, bashful.

“Well you know her and Shuichi are pretty much tied at the hip, right? Maybe they’re secretly dating,” Kokichi offered, shrugging and staring at his nails.

Tenko shouted loud and sharp, dragging her fingers through her hair, “Nooooo!! This always happens to me!!”

“You get hit on by straight girls?” Kokichi said. 

“Girls… well they can be so touchy-feely sometimes,” Tenko hung her head. “It’s so confusing… and disappointing! Has that ever happened to you?”

“Oh hell no, never. I’m a closet key, you know. I’ve made guys gay for me,” Kokichi grinned. 

Tenko frowned, pouted, and clenched her fists, “Never? Come on, tell me, I need support here!”

“Nope, never. I am a master at seducing straight guys.”

Tenko’s eyebrows knitted together and she prodded the cushion next to her, “What about Kaito?”

Kokichi narrowed his eyes, “What _about_ Kaito?”

“You can’t tell me he hasn’t hit on you on accident, I would bet on it!”

She had no proof, there was no way she had proof of such a thing. They were alone and as loud as Kaito could be, no one heard them either.

Tenko’s mouth curled into that horrible self-satisfied dyke-ass grin of hers, “You’re blushing.”

Kokichi’s hands went to his cheeks instinctually, they were warm, sure, but not enough to color--right? Her smile quirked up further. “You’re lying,” he said, kicking himself that he didn’t notice sooner.

“It’s true isn’t it?” she kicked her legs with excitement. “Tell me!”

“There’s nothing to tell! Kaito maaay or may not have yelled at me after dinner for talking about motives for murder and it maaaay or may not have involved pushing me against a wall, slamming a kabedon next to my ear and hissing some threats at me,” Kokichi sighed. “Hardly flirting at all.”

This made Tenko’s face fall in distress, “What a degenerate male! He couldn’t even be nice to you! I mean… it’s _you_ so I understand, but that’s not… Did that really happen?”

“I can neither confirm or deny! Maybe I made it up. You’re the one making assumptions.”

She placed her hands on her face, thinking, “Well, I think you deserve nicer than that.”

Kokichi whipped her head around at her, “What? Why?”

“Because it’s hard for people like you and me,” Tenko said, looking a little forlorn. “It’s hard to just get by sometimes, being different from everybody else.” He could swear he saw a little tear well up in her eye. What a sap, what the hell. It kind of hurt somewhere in his gut to hear and see that. Against his will. Against his better sense.

“It’s whatever, Tenks my sorry little lesbian, I like it rough, so it’s not like it’s a problem,” Kokichi said airily. “Besides, the chances of getting out of here alive are slim anyway, it’s not something to dwell on.”

Tenko looked even sadder at that and that made him feel outright bad for bringing it up. Not that he’d admit that. It made him feel bad, too, when he didn’t suppress the feeling entirely. Isn’t this normal for people like them? To seek happiness and for it to be just out of reach, then you die, right? Kokichi was making himself depressed thinking about it and he hated that. Earnest feelings sucked, no thank you.

He sighed, about to regret what he was going to say, “Hey, do you want to make some tea and chat about how to figure out if Kaede is into girls? We can put on a movie we hate and pretend we’re watching it instead of plotting to peek into the closet.”

She looked up at him, her eyes still a little full, but she wiped them with her sleeve, “Y-yeah, I guess I could stand spending more time with an untrustworthy degenerate.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chats about Kiibo & Kirumi

“Why do you pick on Kiibo so much?” Tenko said thoughtfully. She and Kokichi were sitting in an arcade machine in the casino, a racing game with a tropical theme and some familiar looking billboards that they couldn’t quite place zooming by them—Tsumugi?—Kokichi snorted at her question and engaged the turbo on his side, passing Tenko on the left.

“It’s easy,” he shrugged.

Tenko struggled to catch up. “Shift to third,” Kokichi suggested. She did and her car shot forward. 

“I thought that degenerate males like you teased people you liked,” Tenko said once she’d gotten up from fourth place.

Kokichi accidentally slipped on his brake mid-drift and ended up in the water. “Understandable misconception,” he gritted out while he waited for respawn.

“You don’t think it’s cute when he gets all flustered and upset?” Tenko ventured. 

“Nope.”

“Or when he looks like a kicked puppy after you’ve said something unfairly mean and rude to him?”

“Not in the least.”

Tenko whined, “You never share things with me unless I drag them out of you.”

“Tell you what, beat me and I’ll answer whatever question you want,” Kokichi grinned. This was the last lap and there was no way, she was not nearly as good at playing video games as he was. “Truth only, swear on my scarf.”

Tenko was quiet for a second, the rumble of their cars revving. “Oh, okay, you have a bet.”

She sounded calm and not at all excitable or defeated as he expected her to be. It was then that her blue and green car came up on the side of his black and purple one and knocked him right off the course. His car slid into another water hazard.

“HEY! That’s cheating!” he exclaimed as Tenko slid past the finish line in a cool 2nd place.

Her smile, that stupid fucking smile, didn’t move an inch from the screen until her car showed up in the winner’s circle. She turned to look around the casino, checking if anyone was within earshot. They were alone. Kokichi grumbled as his car was fished out of the lake and set back on the track. He finished fifth. He should have stipulated that she’d have to get in first. Live and learn. 

“So, are you going to keep your promise or are you going to be a degenerate?” she said, her mouth a thin cat’s smile.

“What do you want to know,” he said flatly. He considered slamming another monocoin in the machine, but somewhere in him, he did actually enjoy this weird friendship with Tenko. That involved letting her in just a little, maybe. If it didn’t backfire, it wasn’t boring.

“Do you like him? What made you like him?” she blabbered, bouncing in her seat. “Do you think he’s interested in you?”

“Yes and no, I don’t think,” Kokichi huffed. “You are going to pluck out all my secrets, Tenks! I hate you!”

The crocodile tears in his eyes only made Tenko shake her head. “I feel like I’m going to pop if I don’t tell someone these things, you _have_ be the same.”

No, he was not, because he could stuff his feelings down past his stomach, unlike her. She made him face a lot of them, which he didn’t like. It was harder to ignore with when you got them shoved in your face on the regular. Tenko herself was a strange basket case of feelings and an uneasy friendship in the first place. She was still unsure of him, unwilling to trust him when it came to group activities and decisions. He could tell. It made him bitter in the moment. Someone so close to understanding what he couldn’t say out loud for all their safety, but still so so far.

He decided to change that line of thinking by answering her other question. He respected the rules of the game after all. “He’s a robot, how is that not interesting? I teased him about it and go figure, he blushed. I didn’t know robots could do that, ok! It made me want to tease him more. You’re right, he puts on these puppy dog eyes when he’s upset. It’s, dare I say, cute.”

Tenko squealed, clapping her hands, “See, that wasn’t so hard!” Yes it was. “Okay, I’ll tell you a secret to even it out.”

She probably would have told him without any prompting anyway, but he leaned his elbow on the arcade machine and motioned for her to continue.

“I think Kirumi is really beautiful,” she breathed. “She’s so elegant and refined. I bet she’d never take a second look at me if I weren’t asking her for something. I like asking her to cook because I bet she’d be a great wife, don’t you think?”

Kokichi was in a weird mood now. “Why don’t you marry her then,” he said flatly.

“She’s out of my league,” she frowned. “I asked her to brush my hair once, though. It felt so nice.”

She sighed and sank in the arcade seat. Kokichi kind of wished he could let himself feel some pining, it was like eating too much hard candy. Tasted good, sometimes hurt your mouth. But nope, he had a job to do and it wasn’t chasing boys. If Tenko were smarter, she’d realize she ought to have her guard up more, too. This was indeed a mistake to let her in this much.

“Well, I’m leaving,” Kokichi announced. He hopped out of the arcade seat and sauntered out of the casino. If Tenko shouted after him, he didn’t notice. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interactions with Kiyo & Angie

Kokichi pushed the last little grains of rice around his dinner bowl, thinking Tenko prying into his life a little more than he was comfortable with. More than he should have ever allowed at this point and time. Maybe they could have been big gay friends in another life, but not this one. It was pointless to make friends right now, get attached when someone might kill or be killed at any moment. This blew. He was trying so hard to end the killing game, but there was so much failure to be had when he couldn’t be upfront about his plans. They were being watched at all times. At least, that was his theory. Tenko just complicated all this by pulling information out of him. He didn’t want to be interesting to an audience. Any more than he naturally would be. Can’t exactly turn off the charisma.

The dining hall was loud, everyone blabbering at the same time except for him. Even Gonta, one of those willingly chose to spend time with him (aside from Tenko, who he was avoiding) was chatting amicably with Kiibo about the kinds of bugs that could make home with electrical devices. There was a joke there, especially with Kiibo’s horrified face, but he didn’t interject himself this time.

So lost in thought, he didn’t even notice when someone sat next to him. When the chair squeaked, he made a glance over. Olive gray, not blue — it wasn’t Tenko, thank god. Must be Kiyo, who Kokichi wasn’t interested in speaking with. That was, until Kiyo reached out and touched a strand of his wild hair. 

Kiyo had gotten very close, examining the ends with some interest. Kokichi couldn’t help himself, he felt his face heat up. Kiyo looked him in the eyes, the intense stare seemingly looking entirely through Kokichi’s head.

“You know, your ends are damaged from the dye,” Kiyo said, conversationally. “I could help you trim them and redye it. I believe I saw a box of bleach and purple color in the warehouse.”

Kokichi was at a loss for words for a moment. Kiyo continued. “I could trim the back as well, it looks as though it isn’t usually brushing the back of your neck. I imagine it gets caught in the knot of your handkerchief.”

It did, it had become a little annoying trying to pull his hair out of the way in the morning. Someone paying mind to his habits, his appearance, his mannerisms aside from the way he lied and provoked everyone — Kokichi was confused enough to be a little off-balance. Kiyo reached and touched the nape of his neck. Kokichi’s shoulders shot up around his ears. Kiyo pulled away, but it was too late, a wash of goosebumps ran down Kokichi’s back.

“Whyyyy are you offering,” he sputtered out. “Are you paying that much attention to my neck? That is capital K creepy.”

Kiyo’s rolled eyes said everything, “I care for my own hair, I simply thought you could use some assistance. Perhaps even enjoy it.”

“I’m not letting you near my neck that easily!” he said. Louder than he should have, but he did want witnesses. His face still felt hot and he kind of regretted anyone looking at them. “I’m not that easy, to kill or seduce. Wh...ichever you were trying for.”

Kiyo shrugged, simple and unanswering. “A simple no would have sufficed.”

Kiyo turned back to the mug of tea on the table, unbothered. Kokichi stood up from the table, taking his bowl to the dishwash station. He left it there, leaving the dining room in more of a hurry than he would have liked for people to notice. Whether they thought he was scared or intimidated by the intimacy, neither was ideal. Fear was a liability.

The door shut behind him, then reopened again as he was two steps down the hallway. Sandals clattered on the floor until they slowed to walk next to him. Tenko, of course. Kokichi gritted his teeth. 

“Oh my gosh, what was that about?” she said, her voice half-giggling.

Whether to tell her off or pass it off as a joke, Kokichi wasn’t sure. He did want to push her away, but would that increase the likelihood people thought he was scared of Kiyo? He wasn’t. The anthropologist had a dangerous air, but he imagined that Kiyo was earnest in that moment. It didn’t seem like a string of lies, anyway. Unless there was another expert liar in the Academy.

“It wasn’t anything, but creepy! Creepers gonna creep,” he said, half serious and half joking. Happy medium, kept her at arm’s length. No need to get into how that was a flustering experience.

Tenko hummed, tucking her arms behind his back, “I mean, if the situation got really creepy, I wouldn’t hesitate to throw someone for you.”

Kokichi scoffed, he found it unlikely she would support him in a public way as such. “I can defend myself, I know a thing or two about martial arts. It’s a necessary skill for an _evil_ leader.”

He emphasized the ‘evil’ part in hopes she would catch a clue. She didn’t, of course.

“Still, sometimes getting some attention from the kind of people you like is nice,” she mused. Kiyo probably wasn't the kind of person he liked. Not to make assumptions, becuase that was not useful right now. He tried walking faster, but she adjusted her pace without noticing. “Even if they’re creepy," she said thoughtfully.

“Something I suppose you’d know all about.” He said, a razor’s edge in his comment. “By the way, have you seen Himiko lately?”

Before Tenko could protest, they turned the corner into the classroom hallway toward the stairs with the basement. Angie ascended the stairs, her face brightening and waving as they approached, Himiko in tow.

“Tenko, Tenko!” Angie cried, rushing up to the other girl with her hands pressed to her cheeks. “I wanted to thank you ever so much for your help moving the wood for my statue project!”

Tenko pressed her fingertips together. Kokichi knew she didn’t like Angie much, but he suspected she was trying to play nice for Himiko’s sake and favor. Himiko watched passively, maybe she was unaffected by the kindness. Even so, it was easy to see she was good at suppressing herself, a trait she and Kokichi shared. A spike of anger and annoyance erupted in him, unsolicited and unexpected. She should appreciate Tenko’s attempts, even if they were clumsy and ill-advised. Just a little acknowledgement went a long way. At least have the decency to be direct and decisive. He stuffed it back down; Himiko was doing what anyone would in a situation they were getting hit on by someone they weren’t interested in: giving them no delusion there was a possibility without making it awkward.. There was a piece of him that understood he was doing the same thing by not succeeding in scaring Tenko off their 'friendship.' It wasn't the same, he reasoned. Not at all.

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Tenko said, a little bashful. “I didn’t want you to have to ask any of the men to help you and think they could extort something weird out of you.”

Angie smiled in a serene kind of way, gathering up Tenko in her arms. She pressed her head straight into her chest and held her there. The other girl had to stoop for this position. Angie practically glowed, pleased as a cat with milk. Tenko stared at Kokichi with a horrified, blushing expression. He simply raised his eyebrows at her, knowingly. 

“God blesses your kindness, Tenko,” Angie said, slowly letting her go, but holding onto her hands. “Would you like to come with Himiko and I? I could show you how to carve wood into beautiful, blessed shapes.”

“O-okay,” Tenko said, tottering away as she led her toward the courtyard. 

Kokichi stuck his hands behind his head and placidly watched them walk away. That was one problem solved.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chats about Tsumugi & Ryoma

Kokichi sat in the open window of Ryoma’s lab in the showers, staring at the moving water in the pool. All the evidence of the murder was gone, the scratches in the frame, the missing handcuff even. He swung one of the handcuffs around a finger, kicking a leg out into the poolside. It was kind of a precarious place to be, but he didn’t care much. That’d make for an interesting trial, wouldn’t it? Accidental suicide? Not an awful plan. He snorted to himself.

The door to the showers creaked open, gently, softly. He almost thought it was Gonta until he looked up and saw the ridiculous green hair bow.

“H-hi,” Tenko said nervously. “Are you busy?”

“How did you know I was here?” he asked, sighing. “Have you taken to stalking me instead of Himiko?”

She frowned, “Gonta told me. I looked for you in his lab.”

“Are you here to pull more gay little stories out of me?” Kokichi said. He had a grin on his face, getting crueler and sharper as he spoke. It was time to be more decisive than Himiko was with Tenko. “You haven’t had enough yet? It’s greedy and rude you know, to try to make someone empathize with you.”

Her eyebrows knitted together, “No! I just had a question. I thought you might know. What are you doing here anyway?”

“What does it matter? I can do as I please, can’t I?” he said. “Maybe I just had a prison fantasy I wanted to live out, huh? Do you really want to hear about that?”

Tenko frowned even deeper, “Did you talk to Ryoma much? Do you miss him at all?”

“No.” 

He didn’t have to tell her that the one single conversation he had with Ryoma unsettled him. While he was dashing through the dorms for the Kubs Pads. Ryoma had cornered him and said that Kokichi had a long way to go before he could be a whole person. What a hypocrite, dying the way he did and having the nerve to talk to Kokichi about being a ‘whole fucking person.’ He’d followed it up by saying that he could learn how to be happy, unlike Ryoma himself. He didn’t know anything. Nothing at all. And Tenko didn’t either. She didn’t need or deserve to know that he was still thinking about that conversation.

“Then why are you here? Are you trying to steal his space from him?” 

He didn’t even bother to tell her that Ryoma wasn’t using it anymore. “I wanted a trial momento; it was so fun I wanted to remember it.” He flipped the handcuffs up so she could see them. 

“You’re acting weird, you know,” she said. No shit. This was no different than he always was. She was so fucking stupid. He grit his teeth.

“What did you want to ask me anyway? How to kill someone and get away with it? I can’t help you with that, I’d give up my tricks,” 

“No!” Tenko snapped, “I just wanted to know what it means when a girl says she wants to dress you up!”

“It means Tsumugi wants to see your tits,” he drawled.

“R-really?” she turned red, despite her previous anger.   
  


“I don’t fucking know, Tenko,” he sighed. “What makes you think I know anything about what  _ girls  _ want? I don’t care.”

“Well I just thought—”

“No, you don’t actually think at all, do you?” he said, his eyes getting wide and scary. His mouth cut into an evil grin, staring at her from under his bangs. “You hadn’t thought for a second that maybe I don’t want to talk to poor little sheepy lesbian Tenko, did you? Just because we’re gay doesn’t mean I’m anything like you or you’re anything like me. You’re such an idiot, thinking I wanted to hear about your little girl problems.”

His voice drawled in a pseudo-babytalk mocking tone. Tenko’s face pulled, first into a contorted look of betrayal and second, a nasty, angry glare.

“I knew you were a jerk, you degenerate male!” she hissed. “I shouldn’t have told you anything at all and you’re a-a-a—”

“An asshole,” he supplied. “I tried to tell you all this time and yoooou didn’t listen. Now who’s fault is that? I was even honest with you, but you didn’t believe me!” His voice pitched up in fake indignance, then dropped to a deadpan. “How stupid.”

Tenko took an aikido stance, holding out her hands like dangerous knives. “I’m going to give you one more chance to apologize, you jerk!”

“Or what? You’ll push me out of the window?” he pouted. “Go ahead, kill me. You’ll get caught anyway. Why don’t you just go slob Tsumugi’s knob and leave me alone?”

He looked away and back toward the pool. He felt nothing, belied nothing, indicated nothing. Just as it should be. Tenko made a growling sound that sounded like it tailed off into tears. Nothing, nothing at all. The door to the showers slammed; he could hear her running across the tennis court out of the lab. Good, she finally got it. God, that took way longer than it should have. 

Ten minutes passed before he pocketed the handcuffs and left the showers. He didn’t feel like being there anymore. No reason at all, just one of his whims that he was certainly going to follow.


	6. Chapter 6

Tenko tried to put herself in the way of other people, as in she tried to be part of more conversations and spend time with more people. It was a way to beat back the loneliness she felt. It did some good work, she was starting to be okay with Angie in certain ways. At least she made Himiko happy! And openly happy! Not just content or neutral, like usual. She’d joined the Student Council, she was trying to play nice. And also make sure Angie didn’t string Himiko along too far.

When she was alone and no one available, she spent time in her lab, hands slapping against the wooden practice dummies. She spun around and kicked one in the head, making it spin several times in a row. She watched it spin, a satisfied grin on her face. It spun several more times before she noticed a piece of paper stuck in the neck of the thing, flapping along the foce of the kick.

She hooked both feet on the bottom rungs of the dummy and hoisted herself up, holding the head in both hands so it’d stop. The paper was crumpled and ripping, but there was something written on it and even a little flash of color?

She plucked it out of the gap and jumped off the dummy, landing criss-cross so she could read it. The handwriting was messy and a little childish, but she could parse it out. 

‘Miu asked how to tell if she’s a lesbian. You should go talk to her.’ 

Underneath was a couple stripes of color draw inside of a lopsided heart. Pink to white to orange, the lesbian flag. She almost didn’t want to smile, but she couldn’t help it. He got them upside down, but that was okay. He tried. She hopped up on her feet and dashed out of her lab dojo. 

There were colored pencils in the warehouse, along with paper and pens. She brought an armful to her room and dumped it all on the floor. First, she drew a big rainbow around the edges like stationary. 

  
  


  
  


Kokichi walked into his dorm room and stepped on a piece of paper. He thought about ignoring it. It could be a death threat or something equally boring. Still, he kicked it further into his room before shutting the door and picking it up. He could probably try to guess who was trying to kill him by the handwriting, or at least make a good guess.

The paper weighed down with heavy color, he noticed. He flicked on the light and was greeted with a bright-ass rainbow border. He squinted and realized…. Oh. It must be from Tenko. She found his note. Maybe she did talk to Miu and this was some weird-ass thank you. He peeled the folded paper apart to read it.

‘I asked Shuichi if he liked boys. I didn’t mention you or anybody, I just told him about me. He said he was!! We came out to each other, he said he’s bisexual!’

The lettering was bubbly and girlish — and her name was written at the bottom. Maybe she thought he needed to talk to other queer boys? He wasn’t sure what her game was. This meant nothing to him. 

Which was a lie. Even he had to admit. His room was growing cluttered, boxes, evidence, a whiteboard. The Kubs Pad in the desk that he’d only watched once. He’d already written notes under all the class’s pictures. There was one under Shuichi’s name that he didn’t like to think about. He wasn’t going to think about, in fact. It wasn’t worth the time or effort. 

Kokichi folded the letter back up and stuffed it under the mattress of the bed. Hopefully, no one would find it if he didn’t make it to the end. What a weird piece of information. He didn’t much like hope. Tenko probably did. No, she definitely did. She gave it without asking if it was ok. Now who was an asshole?


	7. Post-Script

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Includes canon interactions for Kokichi's FTEs

For a place that wanted them dead, the warehouse sure had a lot of first-aid supplies. Then again, first aid probably wouldn’t save a life but it would save their faces from blemish for the cameras. Kokichi still hadn’t worked out where they were and where they weren’t. That crack to the head jogged a lot of his memory, confirmed some of his suspicions and honestly? Paved the way for him to be a lot more reckless. That head injury told him a lot of things, more than just memories from before. What was real and what wasn’t. When Shuichi and Maki stumbled on him bleeding on the floor, their reactions told him he could pretend he was less injured than he was. Somewhat. He might have said some things he didn’t intend. It also told him that Shuichi was not at all worried or concerned about him even injured. A minor thought. Information. Nothing more.

Kokichi snorted at himself in his bathroom mirror. Bleeding and dizzy right after the board hit him, he probably had a concussion. He didn’t know what a concussion would do left unattended, but he’d managed to recover, he thought. He predicted what Maki would do seeing him hurt, it would be his own fault if he died like that and Maki didn’t give two shits. Given how he laid her out like he did, he couldn't blame her. But the way Shuichi just got a faraway thoughtful look—Kokichi’s stomach twisted and he pushed the thoughts away. He didn’t even ask if he was okay. It didn’t matter. _It_ _didn’t_ _matter._ It just meant his persona was working. Everyone would hate him in the end. Just like they were supposed to.

But regardless, he could care for the nasty bruise on his mouth for the optics. The cameras certainly saw Kaito punch him across the jaw. He dabbed at the bruises with hydrogen peroxide, wincing at the sting. The punch itself held mixed feelings. On one hand, Kaito was a fucking prick for swinging fists first always. He’d punched Shuichi a long while ago and for  _ some reason,  _ Shuichi forgave him for it. Maybe in another world, Kokichi could forgive Kaito for it too, but again, not this one. But especially not here, not after calling him out in the trial, after calling him  _ pure  _ of all stupid things. Calling him innocent and pure, then socking him across the face like that. No, he would not put up with that kind of bullshit.

Bitterness aside, it was so much easier to channel his attention and anger into his face. The pain did nicely as a pseudo-punishment. There were so many things to get angry at himself for, so that was enough of a spark to get it going. Take it out on everyone else by saying he’ll become the blackened and win. He wanted them to hate him and didn’t at the same time. Fucking hell.

In his head, a steady list was going of things he needed to address and things he wanted to push away. The list of things he wanted to push away was growing and he had little patience to give them audience, but there they were. Number one, Tenko was dead. He knew, he  _ fucking knew  _ Kiyo was up to something sketchy. He should have said something when Tenko volunteered. He should have  _ said something. _ At the time, he was sure Kiyo meant to just lead them astray from the investigation. There was no evidence, but the creepy manner of Angie’s murder pulled Kokichi in Kiyo’s direction right away. He had hoped that forcing Shuichi to join the seance would help tip the detective’s suspicion toward Kiyo, too, not make three involved witness to a murder. Who would have thought Kiyo would murder someone else right in front of them?

Seeing Tenko in a pool of blood, he thought he might throw up. As much as he should have said something, if this was her last act, she would have been grateful it was for Himiko. 

Kokichi took another deep breath and applied more peroxide. No one knew. No one could have known the murderer would do something so obvious and stupid. To think, Kiyo almost got Kokichi alone. Was there a plan for murder then? Probably not. It didn’t suit the flimsy, fake-ass serial killer motive. Kokichi wasn’t a girl and he sure as hell wasn’t suited to be anybody’s friend. Especially not after letting Tenko— 

He slapped his uninjured cheek. He shouldn’t care, he shouldn’t care, he  **_should not care._ ** The bandage he put over his cheek was not quite big enough to cover all the purple of the bruise. But it would do. Everything was a compromise here.

All the times he’d been punched, this was the first time he’d  _ wanted _ to get punched. It was for slipping up instead of finishing this bullshit game like he should have from the start. Eradicating it like he meant to in the first place. He looked at his bruised face in the mirror one last time, glancing over the purpling skin and swollen lip. He gingerly applied the kit’s ice pack and wandered over to his bed, flopped on it, and stared at the ceiling.

She would say that he deserved better than this. It was something she said before. Would she say so now? Kokichi's stomach cramped and he curled in on herself. _Tenko_ deserved better, not him.

He wondered if she would forgive him for screaming at Himiko. All that disaster and she didn’t have the decency to cry over Tenko of all people? Not even Angie, who she admitted was her friend. Not until he pried open that seal and made her face the facts. Bitch. He didn’t like to admit he was still mad about that. Seeing her crumple to the floor of the trial grounds was more satisfying than it should have been. It could have been,  _ should have been, _ Himiko in that cage with her neck slashed. That thought deflated him immediately; Tenko wouldn’t have had it any other way. Wishing Himiko was dead was just an insult to her memory. When Gonta carried her back to the dorm, Kokichi was a little jealous. No one paid him any mind, they didn’t know Tenko made a point of spending time with him. That she felt people like she and him deserved some happiness. Even him. After the steps of the master plan.

Maybe she’d get it in the next life. He bit his tongue at the thought. Something pricked behind the eyes and there was no way he was going to succumb to that. She’d gotten to save her precious Himiko. Maybe the bubbling memories and suspicions after his concussion were wrong, maybe they were right. If Tenko could try this hard for the people she cared about, so he could he. Maybe, maybe he could get the rest of the people he cared about out of here. She gave her life for it. Maybe he could do something as amazing as that.

What he managed to find with that key card he snatched out of Kaito’s hand, that was the crux of it. It wasn’t enough, though there was another piece to the puzzle he had to work out. The whole of the thing scared him. What if he was wrong? What if his brain was addled entirely out of his head? What if that key card unlocked something real? This whole world was fake, there was so much evidence for it. But what if it wasn’t?

This doubt in his own mind and intelligence was not a frame of mind he was used to. He hated it. The scab forming on his hairline itched. Seeing Tenko murdered and then smacking his head hard enough to see stars had really addled him. Stupid. He needed two plans, one for the reality possibility, one for the fake possibility.

He sat up and picked a blank sheet out of the stack of paper he squirreled out of the warehouse. Crayons and a wide arc of the wrist made it look like elementary school drawings, something to pass the time, that wouldn’t pique the audience. He’d propose these new drawings to Miu later, see what she thought, if she could do it. 

He put the finishing touches on some colorful hammers and bombs, she'd like the pink, when the doorbell rang. The clutch in his stomach was weak. The way his brain was now, a flash of hope curled that it might be Tenko. Absolutely ludicrous. Whatever. He opened the door and Shuichi stood there.

“Ah, I was wondering—Oh, you patched yourself up,” he said. Kokichi touched the bandage as Shuichi looked it over.

“Yeah, Kaito nearly knocked the stuffing out of me!” Kokichi said, putting on a pouty face to sell the double lie there. Pulling his face like that brought a little stab of pain. He lied so much, Shuichi would surely believe he wasn’t hurt that bad.

“W-well, did you want to spend some time together?” Shuichi offered. “I thought you could use some company.”

The first thoughts in Kokichi’s head were disparaging thoughts about Shuichi’s hero worship of the guy who punched the fuck out of him.  _ You deserve better _ flashed in his head. He took a deep breath.

  
“I’m glad you came, Shuichi! Today’s your last chance, okay” Kokichi smiled. 

Shuichi, as expected, was appalled at the stabscotch proposition. Kokichi had a plan, something to put Shuichi at ease maybe. Probably make him think less of the supreme leader at the same time, maybe accept that he was reckless and a little stupid. The stab was planned, Shuichi’s reaction was not. Once Shuichi began to fuss, Kokichi’s ears started to ring. He could barely hear Shuichi fretting over him, pulling him into the bathroom and plucking up the first aid kit he’d just used to clean the bruise. He couldn’t help himself, while Shuichi cleaned the blood, he started to laugh. Uncontrollably. The kind of deep gut laugh that made you feel like you did sit-ups for hours.

There was no controlling this laugh and there was no stopping what he said next. He sputtered a thank you and that Shuichi had won by default, he babbled something about successfully killing Shuichi.

“After I said I’d kill you, I was on your mind the whooole time, right? You thought about whether or not I was serious, or why I would say something confusing. Even now! You’re concerned about me form the bottom of your heart!” 

He kept laughing as he said it. It was so improbable this was happening. Especially after Shuichi had completely ignored him about a head injury. A little cut like this? Nothing compared to knocking himself out. Ridiculous!

He giggled, “Now you’ll never ever forget me for the rest of your life. I stole your heart, so now I’m satisfied.” Whether or not it was true mattered very little. That was a lie to cover up how it was the other way around anyway.

Shuichi looked upset, confused, “What does that even mean? Why did you say that?”

“Because I never wanted your life to begin with!” Kokichi clutched his stomach. “I told you from the very beginning that I’m a liar!”

Shuichi didn’t say a word, finishing up his work with the bandages and then he left, hand over mouth in that same thoughtful pose when he left Kokichi to bleed on the third floor of the school. Kokichi laid back in bed, hand behind his head, holding the bandaged one above him. Was this better, Tenko? 


End file.
